A Simmering Sense of Mischief @shannator - Tumblr Blog

that comment about how you should not borrow grief from the future has saved me multiple times from spiraling into an inescapable state of anxiety. like every time i find myself thinking about how something in the future could go wrong i remember that comment and i think to myself: well i never know, it might get better. it might not even happen the way i think it will and if it does happen and it is sad and bad ill be sad about it then, when it happens. and it’s somehow soo freeing

headspace-hotel

hey y'all if you're getting freaked over "overpopulation" or have heard of someone who is, watch this beautifully explained video please and thank you

headspace-hotel

I was going to get my degree in History

I dropped out and now I study Environmental Sciences

When environmental writers talk about "Overpopulation" I realize they have not studied History and I am afraid

I urge everyone to challenge and criticize the notion of "Overpopulation" whenever and wherever it appears.

As the video in the above link simply and elegantly illustrates, human population increased dramatically in the 20th century simply because fewer people were dying at young ages. For most of human history, half of humans died in childhood, and many humans died much younger than the modern life expectancy. In order to keep the population steady, human families had to have enough children so that on average, a pair of two humans would have two children (enough to replace themselves) survive long enough to successfully have their own kids.

Without modern medicine, half of children will die in childhood, so if you want 2 kids to grow up and have kids of their own, better have at least four. And in a world where an infected cut or a bad illness can easily kill you, even people who survive to adulthood might not live to become parents themselves, so better make it five. But as with the modern world, not everybody will have children, so six is a better number, given that a certain share of people may be infertile or run off and become a monk. And you might of course be particularly unlucky with any of the above, so better make it seven.

Of course, people weren't consciously thinking about the replacement rate thing, but I reckon cultural ideas about family size have this kind of math going on under the hood.

The exponential population increase of the 20th century happened because of an unavoidable lag in cultural changes after the change in death rate. People didn't know their kids would survive childhood at higher rates until the kids did survive childhood.

There is no possible way we can significantly decrease the human population within the next 50 or even 100 years without killing people. Why? Because most people who are 20 right now will still be alive in 50 years, assuming life expectancy follows current trends. Birth rates have already declined very dramatically in most areas of the world. This shows that humans are actually pretty damn good at self-regulating their population. It's just that the decline in death rate was relatively sudden and unprecedented, and humans couldn't respond to it until it had already occurred.

Areas that still have high birth rates, have little access to birth control and relatively high childhood death rates. The simple solution is to make health care and family planning safely and easily available for all people.

I think the video illustrates something that is particularly important to notice: WHICH populations are expected to grow. Africa grows the most. The countries that benefited first from lowered death rates—wealthy colonizing countries—have already re-adjusted their birth rates, so they don't grow. White skinned folks will soon be far outnumbered. Hmmmmm...why would we be concerned about this?

To illustrate why the overpopulation argument is so terrifying, here is a little excerpt from the book "Every Living Thing: The Politics of Life in Common" by Jenell Johnson. Trigger warning for genocide and discussion of Nazi ideology (what a surprise...not)

This very blatant and disgusting display of ecofascism being quoted and discussed is obvious, but I fear the concept of "Overpopulation" makes ecofascism acceptable in ways that are perhaps not so obvious.

I believe that every time we say: "Humans' impact on the earth is so terrible!" "Nature would be better off without humans destroying it." "Our species has had a devastating impact on this planet!" "Maybe nature will heal when humans go extinct." "Humans do nothing but kill and destroy everything." We are softening our world slightly more to the evil and abhorrent ideologies in these pages.

What would it look like, if "humans" were held accountable for the damage to the Earth? Do you think every human would be "held accountable" equally? Who do you think would be "held accountable" first? Who most likely dies when there are heat waves, floods, and tornadoes? Who cannot evacuate? Who loses everything, having no external store of capital outside of their home?

And if you think Earth would be better without humans, are you going to volunteer to go first?...or do you expect someone else to...? ...or do you say this to make yourself feel bad about being human as a form of self-punishment, disregarding that your contempt punishes others too?...

amateurletariat

turing-tested

what else does this fish suggest

kira-serialfaggot

Swapping the butter out for mayo when making a grilled cheese

my-friend-jade

nnihilnovum

My mom didn't want cake for her birthday, she wants homemade focaccia.

Bless.

nnihilnovum

20 cloves of garlic soaking in oil and dough ready to rise

shannator

#is this fucking play about us #guess I have the secret blog in my hands

i-amusemyself

PSA: Covid Effects and Complications

Alright fekkers this is how we’re doing public health announcements now that society is collapsing :))

This isn’t a post to tell you to avoid it, but to ask you to read the headings and make sure you make an informed decision if you wanna go out and get infected. If you do take risks, remember to avoid very young/old/pregnant/unwell/vulnerable people, test regularly and wear a mask (yes, they work).

Covid is Not Just A Respiratory Illness

COVID-19 routinely affects organs throughout the body, not just the respiratory system, including the brain, heart, liver, GI tract, endocrine system and skin (Gupta et al., 2020)

Covid can be seen as a blood clotting disorder masquerading as a respiratory illness. (Janardhan et al., 2020)

Covid Causes Brain Damage

Mild Covid infection shows significant orbitofrontal cortical atrophy (shrinking of parts of the brain) and cognitive decline (Crunfli et al., 2022)

Mild COVID-19 infection can cause impaired neurogenesis (nervous tissue growth), myelin and oligodendrocyte (nerve insulation) loss and increased neurotoxic molecules around the central nervous system (Fernández-Castañeda et al., 2022 *preprint)

MRIs of 401 patients done before and after Covid infection showed reduction in global brain size, grey matter loss (orbitofrontal cortex and parahippocampal gyrus) and cognitive decline. (Douaud et al., 2022)

COVID increases the risk of neurodegenerative disorders- Alzheimer’s disease risk is 3.5x increased; Parkinson’s disease risk is 2.6x increased; ischaemic stroke risk is 2.7x increased and intracerebral haemorrhage (bleeding in the brain) risk is 4.8x increased. (Zarifkar et al., 2022)

Risks of cognitive deficit, dementia, psychotic disorders, and epilepsy or seizures are increased for at least 2 years following Covid infection. (Taquet et al., 2022)

In 25% of mild Covid cases, visuocontructive cognitive deficits are seen, associated with changes in brain structure and metabolism. (de Paula et al., 2022)

Hospitalised Covid patients cognitive loss is similar on average to that sustained with 20 years ageing, and equivalent to losing 10 IQ points. (Hampshire et al., 2022)

People reportedly recovered from Covid show decreased intelligence and significant cognitive deficits. (Hampshire et al., 2021)

Covid Causes Alzheimer’s-like Pathology and Accelerates Existing Alzheimer’s Disease

Covid invades cognitive centers of the brain and induces Alzheimer’s-like neuropathology (Shen et al., 2022)

Covid is associated with accelerated progression of Alzheimer’s disease (aaic.alz.org)

Covid produces proteins that form cytotoxic aggregates which damage neuronal cells, which parallels Alzheimer’s disease mechanism (Charnley et al., 2022)

Risks of cognitive deficit, dementia, psychotic disorders, and epilepsy or seizures are increased for at least 2 years following Covid infection. (Taquet et al., 2022)

Covid Causes Kidney Damage

Mild Covid infection is associated with increased risk of kidney damage (Bowe et al., 2021)

Covid infection triples risk of End Stage Kidney Disease, requiring dialysis or kidney transplant (Bowe et al., 2021)

Covid Causes Diabetes

Covid patients have a 40% increased risk of being diagnosed with diabetes after first infection (Xie et al., 2022)

Covid infection is associated with an 81% increase in Diabetes incidence for 12+ weeks following infection (Rezel-Potts et al., 2022)

Mild Covid infections increase risk of Type 2 Diabetes development (Rathmann et al., 2022)

Covid infection leads to an average of 42% increased risk of Type 1 Diabetes across all ages. Risk increases most in pediatric patients- by 584%. (Quedan et al., 2022)

Covid Causes Cardiovascular Illness

Covid infection, even when mild, substantially increases risk of cardiovascular illness up to at least 1 year later (Xie et al., 2022)

Capillary density (how many small blood vessels are present) is reduced by 41% in sufferers of Long Covid 18 months after Covid infection (Osiaevi et al., 2022)

Acute Covid infection results in 6x increase in cardiovascular diagnosis; 11x increase in pulmonary embolism (blood clot in lung); 6x increase in atrial arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeat); 5x increase in venous thromboses (blood clot in vein). (Rezel-Potts et al., 2022)

A spike protein found on Covid-19 virus particles uses the body’s immune response to damage and inflame heart muscle cells. (heart.org)

People with Covid exhibited increased risks and 12-month burdens of incident cardiovascular diseases, including cerebrovascular disorders, dysrhythmias, inflammatory heart disease, ischemic heart disease, heart failure, thromboembolic disease and other cardiac disorders. Risk were evident even in those without prior cardiovascular disease. (Xie et al., 2022)

Risk of stroke more than doubles even with mild or asymptomatic Covid infection. Median time of stroke is 2 months after Covid diagnosis. (Tu et al., 2021)

Covid infection increases heart attack risk by 3-8x and stroke risk by 3-6x (Katsoularis et al., 2021)

Covid infection increases risk of deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and bleeding in the months following acute illness (Katsoularis et al., 2022)

Long Covid is associated with presence of microclots throughout the body. (Pretorius et al., 2021)

Long Covid patients may face an increased risk of abnormal blood clotting. (uclh.nhs.uk)

Covid Accelerates Biological Ageing

Accelerated biological ageing is seen in Covid infection (Cao et al., 2022)

Covid Damages the Immune System

Covid causes T-cell exhaustion, meaning the immune system is less able to fight off pathogens (Loretelli et al., 2021)

Previous infection with earlier SARS2 strains can lead to impaired immune responses to Omicron (Reynolds et al., 2022)

Covid infects and kills T-lymphocytes (key cells of the immune system), causing low T-lymphocyte counts 1(Guan et al., 2020), 2(Shen et al., 2022)

Long Covid patients show reactivation of latent Epstein-Barr (can cause MS) and Varicella Zoster (can cause shingles and Ramsey Hunt syndrome) viruses (Klein et al., 2022 *preprint)

2.8% of Long Covid patients reported Varicella Zoster Virus reactivation, leading to shingles, following Covid infection. Primary risk factors for VZV reactivation are age and immunodeficiency. (Davis et al., 2021)

Covid infection causes immunodefiency in recovered patients by downregulating a specific protein on B Cells (a type of immune cell). (Jing et al., 2021)

Covid Causes the Body to Attack Itself (Autoimmunity)

Covid causes production of autoantibodies which target the immune system, vascular cells, coagulation factors and platelets, connective tissue, and organ systems, including lung, the central nervous system compartment, skin, gastrointestinal tract and other tissues. (Wang et al., 2021)

Asymptomatic Covid infection can lead to severe Ulcerative Colitis (an inflammatory bowel disease). (Mora et al., 2022)

Mild Covid infection can produce significant levels of autoantibodies for 7+ months. (Bhadelia et al., 2021)

Covid infection precedes new appearance of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. (Galleoti and Bayry, 2020)

Covid infection linked to development of vasculitis, arthritis, lupus and sarcoidosis. (Gracia-Ramos et al., 2021)

Autoantibodies linked to Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, immune thrombocytopaenia and autoimmune haemolytic anaemia found in patients following Covid infection. (Moody et al., 2021)

In a group of non-hospitalised healthcare workers with Covid, 54% tested positive for autoantibodies- these targeted skin, smooth muscle, neutrophils (a type of white blood cell of the immune system) and gastric parietal cells (cells in the gut). (Richter et al., 2021)

Covid May Affect Both Male and Female Fertility

COVID-19 virus can be found and continues to replicate in the testes even after death (Costa et al., 2022 *preprint)

COVID-19 infects the testes and damages spermatogenesis (sperm production) (Ma et al., 2020)

Covid virus particles found in penis tissue of men infected 6-8 months earlier, who later experienced erectile dysfunction (Kresch et al., 2021)

Study shows total sperm number lower in men infected with Covid at 3 month follow up (Best et al., 2021)

Testes of Covid patients show significant seminiferous tubular injury and reduced Leydig cells- cells that produce testosterone. (Yang et al., 2020)

11 of 26 (42%) men with mild/moderate Covid infection showed incidental (asymptomatic) epididymitis on Doppler ultrasound - a condition that can cause infertility (Carneiro et al., 2021)

A case of premature ovarian failure due to Covid infection (Madaan et al., 2021)

Another case of premature ovarian insufficiency in a 34-year-old following Covid infection (Wilkins and Al-Inizi, 2021)

Ovarian injury, including declined ovarian reserve and reproductive endocrine disorder, can be observed in a study of women in China infected with Covid. (Ding et al., 2021)

Study finds men who had seemingly fully recovered from Covid infection developed decreased sperm count and motility and abnormally shaped sperm. (Ghosh et al., 2022)

Covid Causes Erectile Dysfunction

Covid virus particles found in penis tissue of men infected 6-8 months earlier, who later experienced erectile dysfunction (Kresch et al., 2021)

A Long Covid survey found 15% of men reported sexual dysfunction and 3% reported a decrease in genital size. (Davis et al., 2021)

Prevalence of erectile dysfunction 3x as common in men after Covid infection (28% vs 9% in controls) (Sansone et al., 2021)

Prevalence of erectile dysfunction in Thai men reported as 65% following Covid infection (Harirugsa et al., 2021)

Another study showing risk of erectile dysfunction triples following Covid infection. (Katz et al., 2021)

Study finds that Covid infection leads to 6-fold increased risk of erectile dysfunction, which worsens men’s mental health. (Hsieh et al., 2022)

Covid Causes Autonomic Nervous System Dysfunction

30% of 4000 Long Covid patients met the criteria for a diagnosis of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, a type of dysautonomia (Davis et al., 2021)

Dysautonomia (autonomic nervous system dysfunction) may be responsible for fatigue and hypoxia in Long Covid patients. (Barizien et al., 2021)

Covid infection frequently causes abnormalities in autonomic nervous system tests, as well as worsening pre-existing dysfunction. Abnormalities included orthostatic intolerance, fainting, heachaches, burning pains, excessive sweating and lightheadedness. (Shouman et al., 2021)

67% of Long Covid patients have moderate-to-severe autonomic dysfunction, regardless of severity of initial Covid infection. (Larsen et al., 2022 *preprint)

Covid infection could result in gastric dysmotility and paralysis (stomach and intestines become unable to move food through). (Coles et al., 2022)

Covid Can Seriously Harm Children

SARS2 causes increased hospital admissions, mortality rate and absolute numbers of deaths in children, compared to Influenza (Shein et al., 2022)

Asymptomatic infection in children can lead to a serious, multiorgan hyperinflammatory syndrome (Riphagen et al., 2020)

An epidemic of hepatitis in healthy children could be linked to previous COVID-19 infection (science.org)

Pulmonary dysfunction persists even in children considered to be recovered from Covid (Heiss et al., 2022 *preprint)

Covid leads to a 3x increased risk of psychotic disorders in children (Taquet et al., 2022)

Children are twice as likely to develop epilepsy or seizures following Covid infection, compared to following other respiratory infections (Taquet et al., 2022)

Children are at an increased risk of epilepsy, encephalitis, nerve, nerve root and plexus disorders up to at least 2 years after Covid infection (Taquet et al., 2022)

Intracranial (brain) bacterial infections have increased during the Covid pandemic, occuring during or just after Covid infection. One Michigan children’s hospital reports a 236% increase. (Khuon et al., 2022)

235,000 children in England have Long Covid symptoms lasting 12+ weeks that affect their daily life (ONS.gov.uk)

21% of Year 13 pupils missed 4+ weeks of school due to Covid for the 21/22 academic year in England (suttontrust.com)

Children and teens who’ve had Covid are at greater risk for blood clots, heart problems, kidney failure, and Type 1 diabetes (Kompaniyets et al., 2022)

5.2 million children have lost a parent or caregiver to Covid infection. (Unwin et al., 2022)

Covid infection leads to an average of 42% increased risk of Type 1 Diabetes across all ages. Risk increases most in pediatric patients- by 584%. (Quedan et al., 2022)

Covid Can Endanger Pregnancy and the Growing Baby

Covid infection during pregnancy increases risk of preterm delivery (Edlow et al., 2022)

Covid infection at delivery increases risk of stillbirth (DeSisto et al., 2021)

Covid infection during pregnancy increases risk of neurodevelopmental disorder diagnosis in babies by 2.17x during first year of life (Edlow et al., 2022)

Risk of severe Covid infection is higher in pregnant women. (Rad et al., 2021)

Newborns born to mothers who had recovered from Covid 10+ weeks prior to birth show viral mRNA and proteins in their stool and signs of intestinal inflammation. (Jin et al., 2022)

Covid infection destroys the placenta, starving the baby of oxygen, resulting in increased risks of stillbirth and neonatal deaths. (Schwartz et al., 2022)

Covid Can Lead to Development of New Allergies

Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) may be triggered by Covid infection, resulting in new allergies and risk of anaphylaxis. (Afrin et al., 2020)

Mast cell activation symptoms are increased in Long Covid (Weinstock et al., 2021)

Covid Worsens Mental and Psychological Health

Covid diagnosis associated with increased risk of mental health diagnosis and neurocognitive decline (Xie et al., 2022)

Risks of cognitive deficit, dementia, psychotic disorders, and epilepsy or seizures are increased for at least 2 years following Covid infection. (Taquet et al., 2022)

Covid Reinfection is Common and Increasingly Detrimental to Health

Reinfection with Covid increases risk of hospitalization, death and long covid by more each time 1(Al-Aly et al., 2022 *preprint), 2(World Health Organisation)

Covid reinfections are common. Mean time between 1st and 2nd infection is 79 days, and between 2nd and 3rd infection is 65 days. (Al-Aly et al., 2022 *preprint)

Covid reinfection is possible as soon as 19 days after initial infection. (Ren et al., 2022)

Long Covid is Common, Serious and Potentially Disabling

1 in 5 (20-30%) develop a new health condition following Covid infection (Bull-Otterson et al. 2022)

Just below 1 in 10 (9.3%) triple vaccinated people are not recovered 4-8 weeks after Omicron infection in the UK (ONS.gov.uk)

1 in 7 (14%) of 11-18 year olds have symptoms 15 weeks after COVID-19 infection (Stephenson et al., 2021)

Long Covid causes disability and unemployment (theguardian.com)

Two million days of healthcare staff absences were lost to Long Covid during the first 18 months of the pandemic in England (the guardian.com)

On average, healthcare staff absent with Long Covid are off for more than 80 days in England (theguardian.com)

A US Long Covid group reports that 44% of those affected are out of work (longhauler-advocacy.org)

235,000 children in England have Long Covid symptoms lasting 12+ weeks that affect their daily life (ONS.gov.uk)

21% of Year 13 pupils missed 4+ weeks of school due to Covid for the 21/22 academic year in England (suttontrust.com)

The proportion of people unemployed and not seeking work due to Long Covid has doubled in the past year in the UK (theguardian.com)

Long Covid survey of nearly 4000 finds 45% required a reduced work schedule and 22% could not work due to illness (Davis et al., 2021)

88% of Long Covid sufferers experience cognitive dysfunction and memory problems (Davis et al., 2021)

80,000 people estimated to have left employment due to Long Covid by March 2022 in UK (Reuschke and Houston, 2022)

2.9 million people of working age in the UK have had, or currently have, Long Covid (Reuschke and Houston, 2022)

Long Covid has over 200 symptoms spanning 10 organ systems. (Davis et al., 2021)

Graph via @davidsteadson on Twitter

Vaccination Does Not Fully Prevent Long Covid

16% of Covid infections lead to Long Covid after 3 vaccinations (Azzolini et al., 2022)

Just below 1 in 10 (9.3%) triple vaccinated people are not recovered 4-8 weeks after Omicron infection in the UK (ONS.gov.uk)

Vaccination only reduces risk of Long Covid by 15%. (Al-Aly et al., 2022)

Covid Persists in the Body after Initial Infection

Covid can persist throughout the body and brain even following mild/asymptomatic infections, for at least 230 days (Chertow et al., 2021 *preprint)

COVID-19 can persist within the gut for at least 7 months after infection 1(Gaebler et al., 2021), 2(Natarajan et al., 2022)

Residual COVID-19 virus has been found in the appendix and breast tissue, 175- and 462-days post-infection, respectively (Goh et al., 2022 *preprint)

COVID-19 virus can persist in the eyes after initial infection (Armstrong et al., 2021)

COVID-19 virus can be found and continues to replicate in the testes even after death (Costa et al., 2022 *preprint)

Covid virus particles found in penis tissue of men infected 6-8 months earlier, who later experienced erectile dysfunction (Kresch et al., 2021)

Viral Persistence Can Cause Serious Illness Many Years Later

We do not know the long term effects of Covid Infection and Persistence.

Persistent Hepatitis C infection increases risk of Hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) (Mitchell et al., 2015)

Persistent Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection causes cervical cancer (Sudenga et al., 2013)

Persistent HIV infection leads to immunodeficiency and AIDS (Pauza, 1988)

Persistence of Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) can cause development of multiple sclerosis (Ruprecht, 2020)

Persistence of varicella zoster virus (VZV), which causes chickenpox, can result in shingles and Ramsey Hunt Syndrome (Gershon et al., 2015)

These effects of Covid are not easy to learn about, but it is essential that people know the risks. This is not fearmongering- it is not “what if”s and “maybe”s- these are events that are happening right now, around the world.

iapislazuli

to me those enormous fuckoff huge pickup trucks with the halogen brights are like animals that have been so severely inbred for an extreme appearance that they’re constantly in pain. Like to me this is mutilation via selective breeding

happyheidi

𝖠𝗋𝗍 𝖻𝗒 𝖠𝗇𝗇𝖺-𝖫𝖺𝗎𝗋𝖺 𝖲𝗎𝗅𝗅𝗂𝗏𝖺𝗇 | 𝖨𝖦: 𝖺𝗇𝗇𝖺𝗅𝖺𝗎𝗋𝖺_𝖺𝗋𝗍

floofybitch

https://fb.watch/mjDHL25iin/?mibextid=Nif5oz

acakewalkofcrocodiles

#rolling like a hot dog on the ocean floor#a state we can all aspire to

it is gorgeous

cursedpinterest

#laugh rule

minuiko

Discord requested the scene where Raoul murders Wyldon for ordering Kel to abandon her people :)

#best dad

amvs

osha-official-the-sequel

BAD IDEA BAD IDEA

beardedmrbean

Those are handy for finding out what breaker an outlet is on

supreme-leader-stoat

teaboot

When I was a kid, I regularly lost reading privileges for “having an attitude” and “acting out”.

It wasn’t as simple as being told not to read during other activities- one of the first times it happened, I remember being six years old, watching my stepfather pull fistfuls of books off my bookshelf and throw them to the floor in a heaping mess while I cried and asked him to stop.

It was weird. Every other adult I knew described me as exceptionally well-behaved, but at home, it was the opposite, and it was blamed on “learning bad habits from that shit you’re reading”.

Because I couldn’t read at home, I spent all my free time at school in the library, reading with my friends.

When I grew up and moved away, I realized that my family life was toxic and abusive, and the “attitudes” I was being punished for were standing up for myself, standing up for my younger siblings, and resisting actual, real-life psychological abuse. Because I’d learned from what I’d read that my family wasn’t normal, not like my parents said it was, and in my stories, the heroes were the people who spoke out when it was hard to.

It is insane to me that there are students right now who can’t access books. It is insane that books are being outlawed. It is perverse that we are stealing away an entire generation’s ability to contextualize their lives, to learn about the world around them, to develop critical thinking skills and express themselves and feel connected to the world or escape from it, whatever and whenever and however they need.

That is not how you raise a compassionate, thoughtful, powerful society.

That’s how you process cattle.

It’s fucking disgusting.

lordgroose

my favorite work memory from this store will always be “hey remember when the subway inside the store closed down and they let me take a bunch of their shit for free and now it lives inside my house?”

my life is a joke

elfgrove

New Things to Beware on the Internet

On May 3rd, Google released 8 new top-level domains (TLDs) -- these are new values like .com, .org, .biz, domain names. These new TLDs were made available for public registration via any domain registrar on May 10th.

Usually, this should be a cool info, move on with your life and largely ignore it moment.

Except a couple of these new domain names are common file type extensions: ".zip" and ".mov".

This means typing out a file name could resolve into a link that takes you to one of these new URLs, whether it's in an email, on your tumblr blog post, a tweet, or in file explorer on your desktop.

What was previously plain text could now resolve as link and go to a malicious website where people are expecting to go to a file and therefore download malware without realizing it.

Folk monitoring these new domain registrations are already seeing some clearly malicious actors registering and setting this up. Some are squatting the domain names trying to point out what a bad idea this was. Some already trying to steal your login in credentials and personal info.

This is what we're seeing only 12 days into the domains being available. Only 5 days being publicly available.

What can you do? For now, be very careful where you type in .zip or .mov, watch what website URLs you're on, don't enable automatic downloads, be very careful when visiting any site on these new domains, and do not type in file names without spaces or other interrupters.

I'm seeing security officers for companies talking about wholesale blocking .zip and .mov domains from within the company's internet, and that's probably wise.

Be cautious out there.

elfgrove

I really want to reiterate how this can go wrong frequently and fast, folks.

A malicious actor sets up a page with an auto-downloader squatting on a domain name that matches a common zip file name like photos DOT zip. This website is set up to start an auto downloader upon being visited, downloading a zip file with the same name as the URL which contains malicious software (virus, worm, keylogger, etc).

Scenario.

Someone you know well sends you an email or text with promised photos attached. The email even reads something like this.

Because .zip is now a TLD, that plain text is automatically formatted into a link to malicious actor's website without them having to send you anything.

Folk with family with iPhones or iPads that are sent multiple photos in one go might be familiar with iCloud's tendency to automatically compile them into zip file for the sender and less savvy tech users have trouble NOT doing that.

These same less savvy users, or even just someone just not thinking in the moment, will click that .zip link, not realizing it isn't the the same as clicking on the promised attachment.

They download a file that matches the name they expected. They open it because they were expecting that file and it's from a trusted source. Except the file they downloaded isn't the one that was sent by their trusted source and now they have malware.

Another Scenario.

An IT person tries to send you an email with instructions on how to resolve a problem with a commonly used filename like install-repair DOT zip or to install new software like microsoft-office DOT zip.

The email may start with instructions of where to go get the legitimate file to do the install or repair, but now a line later in the instructions is also has a link to a .zip URL. A user, already frazzled by IT problems, may click it to ensure they have the right file. Again, they download malicious code from a squatting website or it prompts them with a fake login and now the squatting website has stolen their login credentials for a legitimate site. All due to an expected email from a trusted source.

Above you can see microsoft-office DOT zip is already out there with a fake Microsoft login screen waiting to steal your credentials.

These risks are already out there now because the TLD has been activated.

Plain text on old post are already being resolved into links to the new websites.

Here you can see a tweet from 2021, long before .zip was a domain name, now resolves that plan text into a clickable link. You'll start seeing this everywhere, and malicious actors do not have to lift a finger to send it to you.

Yes, a lot of users aren't going to click that, but a lot of folk will. Whomever is squatting on photos DOT zip domain name has made a one time payment to have access to anyone that ever sees that file name typed out.

In an example of an existing squatter site, clientdocs DOT zip is exactly one such pre-setup .zip domain name that initiates an automatic download. This one may be harmless, but the set ups are already out there and waiting to catch folk.